Los Angeles Dodgers - TeamReport

August 16, 2012|Reuters

MLB Team Report - Los Angeles Dodgers - INSIDE PITCH

The Dodgers are in first place and their closest division rival, the Giants, have lost one of their best players for the rest of the regular season in Melky Cabrera. But Dodgers manager Don Mattingly isn't jumping for joy.

Cabrera was hitting .347 for San Francisco, the major league leader in hits, and was the All-Star Game MVP just last month in Kansas City. But Mattingly knows Cabrera from his time as hitting coach and bench coach in New York, when Cabrera was a young player with the Yankees.

"I know Melky's a good kid," Mattingly said. "Honestly, I like him a lot."

The Dodgers have won four consecutive games, are 5-1 in the first six games of their 10-game road trip, and they are alone in first place in the National League West for the first time since July 13. But Mattingly knows the Dodgers can't assume the Giants will fold without Cabrera.

"We've got to be ready to play that day, and we're going to need a win every time we play them," Mattingly said. "Again, just try to win every day. I'm not worrying about them. I'm worried about us executing against whatever lineup they throw out there."

The Dodgers still have nine games remaining against the Giants, and those games, now guaranteed to be without Cabrera, will go a long way in determining the National League West winner.

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MLB Team Report - Los Angeles Dodgers - NOTES, QUOTES

--LF Shane Victorino went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Victorino is hitting .375 (15-for-40) with 10 runs scored during his hitting streak, and has hit .327 with a .372 on-base percentage in 28 games since the All-Star break.

--LHP Clayton Kershaw allowed three runs in eight innings for his 11th win of the season Wednesday, winning four consecutive starts for the first time all year. Kershaw also struck out eight and walked none, his fifth start with zero walks this season.

--CF Matt Kemp went 1-for-5 with three runs batted in, including a two-run double, his seventh consecutive game with at least one hit and one run scored. Kemp, who has at least one RBI in six of his last seven games, ranks second in the majors among players with at least 200 plate appearances with a .356 batting average.

--RF Andre Ethier went 3-for-5, extending his hitting streak to five games. Ethier, who is hitting .364 (8-for-22) during his hitting streak, is one double shy of becoming the first Dodger ever with 30 doubles in six consecutive seasons. But he has just one extra-base hit in his last 16 games.

--RHP Brandon League pitched a scoreless ninth inning, just his second full scoreless inning since joining the Dodgers on July 31. League has been scored upon in five of his last eight appearances, dating back to July 28 when he was with Seattle.

BY THE NUMBERS: 21 -- Runs batted in for Hanley Ramirez in his 20 games as a Dodger, during which time he is hitting .308.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm not worrying about them. I'm worried about us executing against whatever lineup they throw out there." -- Manager Don Mattingly, on not worrying about the 50-game suspension of OF Melky Cabrera from the rival Giants.

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MLB Team Report - Los Angeles Dodgers - ROSTER REPORT

MEDICAL WATCH:

--INF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr. (tightness in left hip) left the Aug. 11 game early, did not play Aug. 12 and was placed on the disabled list Aug. 13. He said the injury has bothered him for three months.

--LHP Scott Elbert (left elbow inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 26. He began a rehab assignment Aug. 14 and might return Aug. 20.

--SS Dee Gordon (torn ulnar collateral ligament in right thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list July 5. He underwent surgery July 6. He's out until late August or early September.

--RHP Todd Coffey (partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list July 3, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 25. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery July 18.

--RHP Matt Guerrier (right elbow tendinitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 19, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 4. He threw a bullpen session May 16 and then had to rest for three days with elbow soreness. He had more elbow pain May 23, slowing his recovery again. He threw off flat ground July 1 and July 3 after being pain-free in his elbow for two straight weeks. He was scheduled to head to the Dodgers' Glendale, Ariz., training facility on Aug. 10.

--RHP Blake Hawksworth (arthroscopic right elbow surgeries in January 2012 and February 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list March 27. He played in an intrasquad game at the Dodgers' Arizona facility on May 24. He began a rehab assignment with high Class A Rancho Cucamonga on June 22. He was shut down from his rehab assignment for two weeks after experiencing shoulder soreness July 2.